False Confidence ; Jotakak

So Bite Your Tongue and Choke Yourself to Sleep

CW ~ Unsafe Binding, Consent Violation, Mild Swearing

It had been a hell of a ride. We spent the rest of the day driving through Pakistan with minimal stops, for Mister Joestar had promised us a night of rest in a neighbouring town. As the afternoon began to set in, and the sun started to disappear. We pulled up in a small village, swallowed by an ocean of fog. The images we saw there were disturbing. Animals and even people laid dead in the street. Those who were alive were hostile, stand-offish. Many wore diseases, deformities. Their hygiene was poor, their faces sad and dazed. After an attempt to call for help for a man we found dead in the street, I couldn't help but feel it was a mistake stopping here. Nobody had a telephone to ring for the police or paramedics; many locals wouldn't as much as look at us. The village seemed dead but alive at the same time.

On the outskirts of the village, we stumbled across a humble hotel and the woman who ran it. A small, charismatic old, local woman who seemed as desperate for customers as we were for a safe place to sleep. I had a bad feeling, and I felt like Jotaro and Mister Joestar shared my suspicions, but we entered the hotel out of desperation. The owner assured us we could choose whichever room we wanted, for she had no other guests at this time. The inside of the hotel was nice—clean, well-kept, architecturally fascinating. As we went to sign the guest book at the front desk, Jotaro whispered in my ear.

"Hey, sign a fake name." He said it in Japanese, so only I would hear. I wasn't sure if it was a gag or if he had some reason behind it. But I did what he said. I put down 'Tenmei Kakyoin,' it was the first name I thought of.  We took our stuff to our rooms; we all got one each this time. I guess it was nice to have some privacy, but I missed rooming with Jotaro; I felt safer in the night with us both together. It wasn't long until I went to his room anyway, and Mister Joestar was already there. The men were trying to get the television to work, but it was busted, or at least there was no reception.

"This is a pain in the ass." Mister Joestar muttered. "I'm not going to be able to use Hermit Purple to get intel on the enemy." It seemed as though they didn't even realise I had walked in. I spent a moment looking around the room, just like mine, it was only a bed, a closet and a television. No bathroom. The bathrooms must have been communal. That was going to be a problem, especially if the showers were open. Surely that wouldn't be the case—or was that not uncommon in Pakistan. Perhaps I'd just have to shower the next day; I wouldn't smell too bad with any luck.

As if I had predicted in, Polnareff appeared in the doorway to ask the same question. He was wondering where the bathrooms were. I told him my theory, and with that, he headed downstairs.

Mister Joestar sat up from the busted television. "So boys, what do you think?"

Jotaro looked at me; I looked over at him. "I don't know; I've got a bad feeling about this place, this whole town," Jotaro replied, never breaking eye contact with me. Once he said it, I could feel the sensation of a stand user nearby. But it could have been anything. It could have been Mister Joestar, Polnareff, Jotaro. Hell, it could have been me; there was no way of saying for sure.

"I think I'm feeling it too," I added. "But I don't know." Mister Joestar paced back and forth in the room.

"I guess we need a plan in case something does surprise us tonight." He said as he stroked his chin. But before we could begin that discussion, we heard what sounded like a gunshot downstairs. We froze for half a second before running out the door.

Polnareff was still descending the stairs but had frozen at the sound of the gun. "Polnareff, what's going on down there!" Mister Joestar called.

"I-I don't know. I suppose you guys heard that too?" He replied. The man continued his descent. "I'm going to investigate." I heard Jotaro grunt beside me. He probably thought what I also thought, that it was a stupid idea to just wander towards the sound of a gun.